BATTLE CREEK, MI -- A Calhoun County judge will reconsider his decision to drop charges against Chris Wahmhoff, a Kalamazoo man who protested inside an Enbridge oil pipeline in June.

Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert said he has filed a motion for reconsideration of the ruling. A hearing on the motion will take place Monday in Calhoun County Circuit Court.

On June 24, Wahmhoff climbed into a crude-oil pipe near Marshall to
protest Enbridge Inc. replacing five miles of pipeline. He willingly
came out of the pipe after a 10-hour protest that drew heavy police
presence.

Wahmhoff and his attorney argued that nowhere in the police report does it say an officer demanded he get out of the pipe.

Wahmhoff is a member of Occupy Kalamazoo and Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands
(MICATS), which protests against Enbridge, the company responsible for a
pipeline rupture that spilled about 1 million gallons of oil into the
Kalamazoo River in 2010.

He also is a U.S. Senate candidate, seeking the seat that will be left vacant when Democratic Senator Carl Levin retires in 2014.

Wahmhoff will use the hearing as a platform for offering his opinions on Enbridge's Morrow Lake dredging operation.

In a news release, Wahmhoff said MICATS will hold a press conference after the hearing, making the following demands of Enbridge officials: close the Kalamazoo River during the dredging operation, require the workers to wear protective respiratory and toxic handling gear, and acknowledge publicly that the 2010 spill extends to Allegan County.

Aaron Mueller is a public safety reporter for the Kalamazoo
Gazette. Contact him at amuelle1@mlive.com or 269-568-3867.
Follow him on Twitter.